Contents

Using ‘of’ with Some / Any / Much / Many / More / Most / a Little / a Few .........................................3

Not Any, No, None ..................................................................................................................................7

Every, Each, and All ................................................................................................................................9

 Using ‘of’ with Some / Any / Much / Many / More / Most / a Little / a Few

We often use words like 'some', 'any', 'much', 'many', 'more', 'most', 'a little' and 'a few' directly in
front of a noun.

We use 'some' and 'any' and 'more' and 'most' in front of plural countable nouns and uncountable
nouns.

• She has some bread.

• He doesn't read any books.
• I'd like more coffee.
• Most children enjoy holidays.

We use 'a little' and 'much' in front of uncountable nouns.

• I need a little sugar.

• He doesn't have much time.

We use 'a few' and 'many' with plural countable nouns.

• We have a few ideas.

• They didn't buy many magazines.

However, we don't always use these words directly before a noun. Sometimes we need to use 'of' after
these words.

We need 'of' if the next word is a pronoun, not a noun.

Some / any + of + pronoun.

3 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7

 • I want some of that.
• We haven’t got any of those.

More / most + of + pronoun.

• I’d like more of them.

• He will eat most of it.

A little / a few + of + pronoun.

• Can you give me a little of that?

• We need a few of them.

Much / many + of + pronoun.

• I don’t have many of those.

• She didn’t use much of it.

We need 'of' if the next word is another determiner, like 'his' or 'the' or 'this'.

Some / any + of + determiner + noun.

• I don’t like any of these sweets. (NOT: I don’t like any of sweets.)
• I'd love some of the coffee (NOT: I'd love some of coffee)

More / most + of + determiner + noun

• I’d like more of those potatoes.

• He can play most of the instruments that they have.

4 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7

A little / a few + of + determiner + noun.

• Could I use a little of your milk?

• I ate a few of those biscuits.

We use much / many + of + determiner + noun.

• Did you eat much of the chocolate?

• I don’t have many of your books.

We can also use these words on their own (without a noun or 'of') if the meaning is clear.

• You’re drinking coffee! I need some!

• Talking of money, do you have any?

• Children? Yes, most like sweets.

• A: More potatoes? B: Yes, I’d like more.

• Is there any coffee? Can I have a little?

• These biscuits are delicious. Give the children a few.

• Did you eat much? (= Did you eat much dinner?)

• I don’t have many. (= I don’t have many plants.)

5 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7

Exception: a lot of / lots of

We can use ‘a lot of / lots of’ before uncountable nouns and plural nouns AND before pronouns and
determiners. It's a bit different.

• I ate lots of cake.

• I ate a lot of it.
• I ate a lot of that cake.

We can use ‘a lot / lots’ without a noun if the meaning is clear. In this case, we don’t use ‘of’.

• She has some shoes but he has lots.

• I love coffee and I drink a lot.

6 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7

 Not Any, No, None

We have already talked about how we use ‘any’ in a negative sentence with ‘not’.

‘No’ can mean the same as ‘not any’. We use ‘no’ before a plural or uncountable noun. The meaning
is the same as ‘not …any’, but ‘no’ makes the negative feeling stronger.

• I don’t have any plans (neutral).

• I have no plans (strong = I definitely don’t have any plans).

• She doesn’t want any help (neutral).

• She wants no help (= she definitely doesn’t want help. Don’t help her!)

We can’t use ‘no’ with ‘of’. So, we use ‘none of’ instead. ‘None of’ is also strong.

None + of + pronoun.

• I need none of those (= I don’t need any of those).

• We ate none of it.

None + of + determiner + noun.

• I bought none of the fruit.

• She gave him none of his money.

We can use ‘none’ alone, without a noun, if the meaning is clear. (We can’t use ‘no’ in this way.)

• A: Did you drink any of the milk? B: I drank none.

• I liked all of the bags but I bought none.
• A: How many chocolates did you eat? B: None!

7 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7

We need to use a positive sentence with ‘no’ and ‘none’. We use a negative sentence with ‘any’.

• I didn’t buy any.

• I bought none.
• NOT: I didn’t buy none.
• She doesn’t like any vegetables.
• She likes no vegetables.
• NOT: She doesn’t like no vegetables.

We use 'nothing', 'nowhere' and 'nobody / no one' in the same way as 'no' and 'none'. You can read
about them in the pronouns section.

8 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7

 Every, Each, and All

We use ‘every’ before a singular countable noun. When ‘every + noun’ is the subject, the verb is
singular too.

• He ate every biscuit.

• Every book was open.
• Every child needs love.

We use ‘everything’, ‘everywhere’ and ‘everybody / everyone’ in the same way as ‘every’. You can
read about them in the pronouns section.

We also use ‘each’ before a singular countable noun, and we use a singular verb is ‘each + noun’ is
part of the subject.

• Each cup was empty.

• I looked at each person in turn.
• Each boy was holding an ice cream.

We can use ‘each’ (but not ‘every’) with ‘of’ before a pronoun.

• Each of them wanted the money. (NOT: Every of them wanted the money.)
• She gave a biscuit to each of us. (NOT: She gave a biscuit to every of us.)

We can use ‘each’ (but not ‘every’) with a determiner + noun. This time we use a plural noun but the
verb is usually still singular.

• Each of my cups was empty.

• Each of the boys was holding an ice cream.

In many situations, ‘each’ and ‘every’ mean the same.

9 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7

If there are only two things, you must use ‘each’. If there are more than two, you can choose ‘each’ or
‘every’.

• He wore a different shoe on each foot.

• NOT: He wore a different shoe on every foot. (This gives us the idea that he has more than
two feet!)

We use all + plural / uncountable nouns.

• All children need love.

• All chocolate is delicious.

We use all + of + pronoun.

• I ate all of them.

• She drank all of it.

We use all + (of) + determiner + plural or uncountable nouns. You can choose to use ‘of’ or not. It
doesn’t change the meaning.

• I ate all (of) the biscuits.

• She drank all (of) my coffee.

When we use ‘all’ with plural, countable nouns, we are talking about three or more things. (For two
things, we use ‘both’.)

Both my parents live in Scotland. (NOT: All my parents live in Scotland. This sounds like I have
three or more parents.)

We usually use ‘not all + a positive verb’ for the negative.

• Not all children like chocolate.

10 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7

All and every have very similar meanings, but the grammar is different.

All + plural / uncountable noun.

Every + singular countable noun. We can’t use ‘every’ with determiners.

• All children need love.

• Every child needs love.
• All these children need lunch.
• NOT: Every this child needs lunch.

Here’s one exception: all day. In this case, we use ‘all’ with ‘day’ (although ‘day’ is a singular
countable noun) to mean ‘from the beginning of the day to the end of the day’.

• I drink coffee every day (I drink one cup every morning).

• I work all day (I work from morning to evening).

11 Ultimate A2 Grammar Course Section 7